Report incest to authorities, victims urged
Saturday, July 21, 2007
ABOUT 40 cases of incest have been reported to the Department of Community Development, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports since 1999.
Talking to The Brunei Times, Datin Adina Othman, the Director of Community Development said the number of cases might be higher, since some of them were reported to the police first.
She said people were more aware now than before of incest and were not afraid to report the crime to the police.
Datin Adina said incest were prevalent among lower class families and very few from middle class families. "The families are usually dysfunctional, having cases of divorce, polygamy and unemployment," she added.
She went on to say that "most of the affected families do not have strong religious beliefs and faith. In some cases the perpetrators of such acts are intoxicated with drugs, such as methamphetamine or syabu. The majority are from Malay Muslim families."
The director advised youth or anyone to report to relevant authorities if they felt themselves as victims of incest
"Tell someone, your teacher, friend, family member and do not be scared. Do not think that it is only happening to you. Reporting will lessen the risk of it happening to others. A lot of the children involved are threatened by the perpetrator," she said.
The effects of sexual abuse on the young victims, according to Datin Adina, include low or lost of self-confidence.
"The victims' feelings of self-esteem are low. Some become sexually irresponsible. Others just simply stop caring," she said adding that these attitudes will affect them for life.
"But what we want them to know is that there are people out there to help," she added.
The department has a 141 hotline, which opens during office hours except on Friday and Sundays. The hotline can be used to report such cases or to seek advice from social workers, who receive the calls.
In an effort to educate youth on the subject, the community development department has joined a roadshow organised by the Ministry of Education that allowed different representatives from various agencies to share experiences and knowledge and give advice.
The director said that the roadshow highlighted cases of incest and 'free-sex' and some advice on dealing with them. "We did not only visit schools four times a week, but also went to villages in an attempt to spread the awareness. We want everyone to have the courage to report such cases, as it will really help us," she said.
The department has also been organising briefings for teachers on how to be more observant in identifying troubled children in their respective schools.
"As a community, we are all responsible in addressing these problems.We have had relatives reporting such cases to us. We assure people that the reports will be kept anonymous," she stressed.
The Brunei Darussalam National Laws under the Legislation of Interpol member states on sexual offences against children, under 'Unnatural Offences' of incest in Article 377 A of the Penal Code, Chapter 22, states that: 'Whoever -
being a male, has sexual intercourse with a female who to his knowledge is his grandmother, granddaughter, daughter, sister, half-sister, or mother; or
being a female, has sexual intercourse with a male who to her knowledge is her grandfather, grandson, son, brother, half-brother or father;
is said to commit incest, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years and a fine.
The explanation of such charges states that "it is immaterial whether the relationship between the persons charged is or is not traced though lawful wedlock."
It also states that "this section shall not apply to Malays and other races indigenous to Brunei, whereby their own law or custom are punishable for having sexual intercourse within prohibited degrees of relationship".
The Brunei Times
Talking to The Brunei Times, Datin Adina Othman, the Director of Community Development said the number of cases might be higher, since some of them were reported to the police first.
She said people were more aware now than before of incest and were not afraid to report the crime to the police.
Datin Adina said incest were prevalent among lower class families and very few from middle class families. "The families are usually dysfunctional, having cases of divorce, polygamy and unemployment," she added.
She went on to say that "most of the affected families do not have strong religious beliefs and faith. In some cases the perpetrators of such acts are intoxicated with drugs, such as methamphetamine or syabu. The majority are from Malay Muslim families."
The director advised youth or anyone to report to relevant authorities if they felt themselves as victims of incest
"Tell someone, your teacher, friend, family member and do not be scared. Do not think that it is only happening to you. Reporting will lessen the risk of it happening to others. A lot of the children involved are threatened by the perpetrator," she said.
The effects of sexual abuse on the young victims, according to Datin Adina, include low or lost of self-confidence.
"The victims' feelings of self-esteem are low. Some become sexually irresponsible. Others just simply stop caring," she said adding that these attitudes will affect them for life.
"But what we want them to know is that there are people out there to help," she added.
The department has a 141 hotline, which opens during office hours except on Friday and Sundays. The hotline can be used to report such cases or to seek advice from social workers, who receive the calls.
In an effort to educate youth on the subject, the community development department has joined a roadshow organised by the Ministry of Education that allowed different representatives from various agencies to share experiences and knowledge and give advice.
The director said that the roadshow highlighted cases of incest and 'free-sex' and some advice on dealing with them. "We did not only visit schools four times a week, but also went to villages in an attempt to spread the awareness. We want everyone to have the courage to report such cases, as it will really help us," she said.
The department has also been organising briefings for teachers on how to be more observant in identifying troubled children in their respective schools.
"As a community, we are all responsible in addressing these problems.We have had relatives reporting such cases to us. We assure people that the reports will be kept anonymous," she stressed.
The Brunei Darussalam National Laws under the Legislation of Interpol member states on sexual offences against children, under 'Unnatural Offences' of incest in Article 377 A of the Penal Code, Chapter 22, states that: 'Whoever -
being a male, has sexual intercourse with a female who to his knowledge is his grandmother, granddaughter, daughter, sister, half-sister, or mother; or
being a female, has sexual intercourse with a male who to her knowledge is her grandfather, grandson, son, brother, half-brother or father;
is said to commit incest, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years and a fine.
The explanation of such charges states that "it is immaterial whether the relationship between the persons charged is or is not traced though lawful wedlock."
It also states that "this section shall not apply to Malays and other races indigenous to Brunei, whereby their own law or custom are punishable for having sexual intercourse within prohibited degrees of relationship".
The Brunei Times
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